Bridget- Quite a Year

2nd grade is shaping up to be quite a year for Bridget.
 In December she made her first Reconciliation. Then in January she got her eyes checked and got glasses. The new glasses are making reading much easier.

In celebration of her Sacraments Bridget got her ears pierced in February.

And then we went to the orthodontist and we discovered that Bridget is missing adult teeth, 3 of them, just like Rachael. She will get an expander, night time face mask (to pull her top jaw forward), and braces on her bottom teeth in March and April.

Then in May she will receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist.

 A big, big year for our Bridgie Rose.

Visit From Grandma

We were so blessed by a visit from Grandma Kate at the beginning of the month. She came in for Rachael's Confirmation but was here for all of us. The girls were dripping with excitement. Jim dropped Emma off at church for retreat right before he picked Grandma up at the airport so she was sad she was going to miss some of the visit. But Emma would get some Grandma before she left on Tuesday.

This trip was was notable for the Mexican Train Domino's games we would play after Johanna went to bed. It is a great numbers and strategy game that everyone has a fair chance at winning. We kept staying up late to play so the girls got silly some nights, and Bridget got a little emotional other nights when her plan got derailed. But it was all fun.

Grandma got through a number of reading session with Johanna and Bridget, and I don't think she feel asleep once. Johanna loves to have stories read to her and she reads to others as well. Bridget put on her glasses and did her reading homework with Grandma one night. It reminded my of all of the other visits where Grandma snuggled with a little girl or two for a story. It is always time that they treasure.

 

We went out to dinner the last night of her visit. Rachael was raving about Mission BBQ and the girls all wanted to go (including Grandma), so they were motivated to get homework done so we could go out on a school night. We took 2 cars and the girls all wanted a turn to ride with Grandma so we switched seats on the way back. We played one more game of Train Dominos before we sent the girls to bed well past their bedtime. 

We got snow overnight so we were treated to a two hour school delay. Everyone was grateful for more time to spend with Grandma, and Megan asked if we could eat the leftover ice cream cake for breakfast. I figured "why not?", life is about making memories together.

The 2 hour delay also gave me time to grab a few pictures of Grandma and each girl. Grandma Kate hadn't even gotten dressed or put on makeup but was such a sport and happily posed for pictures. I don't know if she even thought about it because she never mentioned it and instead leaned in close to each girl. I know she loves them dearly and the girls know it too. I hope she knows we love her back.

Thanks for the visit Mom!

   

Rachael Confirmed

On Sunday, February 8th Rachael received the Sacrament of Confirmation. The preparation for this Sacrament includes lots of decisions and paperwork and even an interview. It has all the trappings of adult life and also includes the community and reflection of our Catholic Faith. One of the decisions Rachael had to make was that of a Confirmation name. She wanted a cool Saint name but she also wanted to connect with the Saint in some way, so she went back and forth on the online Saint encyclopedia sites reading their stories and she went with Saint Hedwig of Silesea. Rachael also had to select a Confirmation Sponsor and early on asked Emma to sponsor her in her faith.

Bishop Madden celebrated the beautiful Confirmation Mass. Emma was just returning from retreat glowing with the Holy Spirit so even in her late arrival to the pre-sacrament instructions, she was a peaceful welcome support to Rachael. The rest of the family filed into our assigned pew. Grandma Kate came in from Colorado to celebrate Rachael's Sacrament, and Grandma Pat and Grampa, and Dawn and David Murphy, her Godparents sat with us. The Mass was well over 2 hours long and was well over Johanna's capacity. Luckily lots of other family came to support and celebrate with Racahel as well. Some of the Jauquets, and Kureks came as well as the whole Shumaker family. Jim had to take Hanna out of Mass because she just couldn't stop talking. He came back without Hanna and told us that he had tied Hanna up and put her in a closet. Aunt Becky willingly occupied Johanna for the middle hour of Mass.

It was fun to see Emma at Rachael's side as they walked up to Bishop Madden. Emma presented Rachael and Bishop asked her about her name. He is a really gifted shepard and brings a welcome joy and connection to the Confirmandi. At the end of Mass we were all scattered throughout the church but I connected with Emma and Rae as everyone else headed to Matthew's 1600 for our dinner reservation. I took a few pictures of the girls with the Bishop and then we too went over for dinner. We arrived to everyone settled at the long table and Johanna snuggled in Grandma Pat's lap. After we placed our dinner order we took the opportunity to snap a few pictures with Rachael and her special guests.

It is hard to tell sometimes with Rachael what she has gotten out of an experience because so many thoughts and ideas compete for expression, but ever since her Confirmation day, Rachael has set aside her fandom jewelry and has been wearing a large wooden cross instead.

Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. 

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. 

And You shall renew the face of the earth. 

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, 

grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, 

Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Megan turns Eleven- Hunger Games Style

Our Megan turned a beautiful 11 years old and we gathered around to celebrate.
Her birthday was on a Thursday this year and the schedule was full of activities so we made the decision that we would go out for her birthday dinner on Friday. Thursday morning we made pancakes and bacon before everyone headed off to school. Johanna was happy to sing Happy Birthday to Megan many times throughout the morning. Megan went off smiling into the chilly winter, ready for her day.

A winter storm was due that afternoon and rolled in right after school. All of the afterschool and evening activities were canceled. This to us was a welcome change and instead of running around and crossing paths we focused on celebrating Megan on her actual birthday. As soon as Jim came home from work we assessed the weather and decided that dinner out would be fun. Megan picked the burger and shakes restaurant "Johnny Rockets" so we put on our boots and went out all together. After our dinner we came home and gathered around as Megan opened her gifts. She is always so gracious and it is a joy to give to her.

Our Friday was now open to prepare for Megan's party. She wanted a Hunger Games Party, so we had fun searching for ideas and planning her party. She wanted to play games so we re-themed some of the best games from her Olympic party and we added a few games like the sponsor parachute drop and archery for the Hunger Games effect. We kept the prep and decoration simple and made it most about hanging out with friends. Megan wanted to watch the Hunger Games movie at bedtime with her friends, but one friend wasn't allowed to watch the movie. Megan immediately said that was ok we would just pick a different movie. But a few days before the party Savannah's parents decided that the movie would be ok. Megan was happy but really would have been fine. She really just wanted her friends to be with her.

 Megan invited 4 friends and they arrived with their sleepover gear on Saturday at 6:00. When the girls arrived  they decorated lanyards with their tribute badges and wrote their tribute names that was generated using Megan's name generator. They girls ate and then did gifts. We made sure to have cake early enough so that Johanna was awake and able to sing Happy Birthday too. The girls then went downstairs and played a series of games. Boy were they loud, but they were having a blast. They were comfortable with each other and cheered and teased as only good friends can do. After the tribute games they set up camp in the basement in front of the TV and then got ready for the movie. Megan and her friends stayed up way too late, but headed home happy Sunday morning.

Megan had fun planning and celebrating her eleventh birthday ans we were all so happy to celebrate the bright and kind girl that she is.
Happy Birthday Megan!